Making Staff Leave

Now for the harder stuff. Up until now we’ve spoken about employee turnover having an upside, how to let people go with your blessing, and how to fight the good fight. That’s all well and good. However, did you turn to this chapter wondering how to let people go? Well, let’s look at that now.

Regardless of how good a manager you are, you’ll always have to deal with bad performance. In fact, it’s an integral part of your job. Here’s why:

• Given that you’re responsible for the output of your team, if you have a bad performer, then your output is suffering. You’ll need to work out how to deal with the situation.

• Bad performers in teams affect their team mates. Given that teams are interdependent, others in the team will soon become frustrated with those who are not performing at the expected standard.

• The bar that you set for acceptable performance is firmly fixed at the level of your worst performer. The longer you go without attempting to fix the problem, the lower your bar is as a manager. It reflects badly on you and your team.

In this section we’re going to look at the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), which is a tool that you can use to force a resolution to an ongoing performance problem. Before we go any further and look at it in detail, you should understand the following:

• A PIP should only be used when other means have failed to improve the situation. This means that you should not be dropping them on people as a surprise. Assuming you’ve been following the book and have been able to build strong and trustworthy relationships with your staff, then you should be having continual conversations with them about their performance, including during situations where it seems to be getting worse. A PIP is used when continual conversations about how to improve poor performance are getting nowhere.

• A PIP is serious, since the worst outcome for your staff member is that they are dismissed and their contract is terminated. Don’t treat it lightly. For someone on the way out, the PIP is the last thing that happens before they are let go.

• Employment and labor laws may differ in your country, so do check the correct course of action for poor performers with your manager and HR team, or seek external advice if you are unsure. I have used PIPs for U.S.- and U.K.-based staff, but I cannot speak for all jurisdictions the world over.

So, what is a PIP? In short, it’s a formal document outlining:

• The current situation and performance issues that are occurring.

• A number of goals that the employee will need to meet in order to pass the PIP and retain their employment and good standing at the company.

• A fixed period of time during which the PIP is active. If they complete all of the goals during that period, they have passed. If not, then the consequence is usually that they lose their job.

• How you are going to help them turn it around.

Remember that for you, as a manager, the PIP can be viewed as beneficial regardless of the outcome. If the employee passes the PIP and improves, then the performance situation has been rectified. If they do not, then they leave the company and you can then hire somebody else in their place. It’s a bit like a probation period in that sense. That being said, a PIP is not a firing in advance. You must be committed to structuring the document and process in such a way that does actually give your employee the chance to achieve the goals that have been set out and that enables a clear understanding of why those goals are a signifier of good performance. PIPs that are unachievable are unethical and potentially unlawful. You should be as invested in your employee turning the situation around and staying as you should be in potentially finding their replacement.

Preparing the PIP

If you think that it’s time to intervene on bad performance with a PIP, then do make sure that you talk to your HR team and your manager before going any further. They will have invaluable advice. Assuming that a PIP is the outcome that they suggest, then you’ll need to do the following:

• Outline the employee’s current job description for clarity.

• Consider the performance or behavioral issue that you are seeing. You should provide evidence that backs up your claims with reference to the job description. For example, if their work is not up to the required standard, how are you able to show that? Are they missing deadlines? Is bad code regularly being deployed to production? Have there been any formally reported behavioral incidents? Remember that you need evidenced claims, not just speculation. Is there evidence that you have spoken to them before about it? Check your one-to-one notes.

• Consider goals that you could set for the employee to pass the PIP. Given that you have evidence to demonstrate that their performance is not to the standard that you expect, what does the inverse look like? That is, what would prove good performance? Perhaps it could be particular pieces of work being completed in a set amount of time, exhibiting particular communication patterns, always turning up on time, and so on. Ensure that each goal is achievable, relevant to their performance, and can be done in a specified amount of time.

• Consider whether training or support is required to reach the goals. Each employee should be able to achieve the goals, so if they lack the skills to do so, then why is that and how can you support them?

• Consider their personal situation. Sometimes poor performance happens as a side-effect of issues in a person’s personal life. This is normal, and you should be thoughtful and caring. But it cannot go on indefinitely. You can make reasonable adjustments to support them (for instance, changing their hours).

Make notes on all of these aspects and then share those notes with HR and your manager so that they can scrutinize them to make sure that they are clearly stated, fair, and achievable. You should ask yourself how long you think it is going to take for them to improve their performance, and how short it could be so that they don’t incur fatigue. You should then discuss a reasonable timeframe for the PIP to take place in. Typically anywhere between one to three months is reasonable, similar to how the probation period works at the beginning of employment.

Creating the PIP

Assuming you’ve gotten agreement from others on the content, it’s time to write it up. Since documentation is a key part of the process, you’ll need to begin the process by formally writing it. This is most easily explained by example.

The following sidebars will contain the content of an example PIP for a hypothetical employee called Stephen. His performance has been declining over time, which has been demonstrated by his unexplained absences from work and also not completing work at the speed and standard expected from someone in a senior position.

Let’s look at how the PIP could begin. It assumes that you have formally gathered feedback from the whole team about them first.

As you can see, it outlines:

• That the employee is being placed on a PIP.
• Why this is the case, with specific, evidenced examples.
• What the desired outcome of the PIP is, with the focus being on the fact that it can be used as an opportunity to improve.

Let’s continue looking at the example PIP, see the sidebar. We’ll continue with the objectives that Stephen has to meet to pass it.

The objectives should be measurable with evidence and achievable, assuming that the employee is serious about passing the PIP. Where possible, use exact times, days, and actions within the descriptions.

At the end of the document should be blank spaces for the following, which will be completed after you have a meeting about it. This space will contain a write-up of:

• Any training or additional support you agree upon through the duration of the PIP.

• Any further clarification of the objectives (if necessary). For example, there may be some additional specificity around what work being completed “on time” means, such as particular deadlines, or perhaps estimates of the rough number of days to complete a number of story points.

Additionally, you’ll both need to sign it.

Delivering and Implementing the PIP

Once you’ve written up the PIP document, share it with HR and your manager to ensure that it meets requirements. Assuming that it does, then you need to schedule a meeting to go through it in person with the employee.

You should then do the following:

• Set up a meeting to discuss the fact that they are being put on a PIP and what this means. It may be the case that they haven’t been on one before and aren’t aware of the process, so do provide explanation and links to further documentation if you have it.

• Share the PIP document so they can read it beforehand and come to the meeting ready to discuss it.

In the meeting, you should calmly read through the document with them. Listen to their opinions and concerns, and if there are any parts of it which could be described better or tweaked slightly based on your conversation, then you should do so—after all, it’s in both of your best interests for them to be able to succeed.

Assuming that they’re in agreement with the PIP, they should sign it along with you, and then you have formally entered into the duration specified. Then, you should enter into a weekly cadence of discussing progress: a natural place for this to happen is your one-to-one meetings. Always refer back to the document with them to discuss the exact goals.

The period can go one of two ways. The ideal way is they meet all the expectations, nothing bad happens, and they pass the PIP with flying colors. However, it’s possible they don’t manage to meet the objectives, and you are continually making notes of times they haven’t been able to meet them, such as continued lateness, unresponsiveness, and absences with no notice given.

If this is the case, it is reasonable to give a formal warning. Given one or more breaches of the PIP, write up a letter specifying the evidence for it having been broken and share it with your manager and HR for approval. Then, follow the previously described process again: book a meeting, share the letter, and sit down to discuss it. State that this is the last chance and a formal warning that they are in breach of the PIP.

After this, if they are in breach of the PIP again, then it’s time to let them go. Talk to your manager, HR, and whoever else you need to make this happen. Do the right thing for them, empathetically. You did try your best, and assuming that you have been supportive, you’ve done all that you can do and they should move on. Your team deserves to work with a new staff member who is able to perform to the required standard, and the member of staff on the PIP deserves a clean break. You should think carefully about how you communicate the decision with your team. Ask your HR team and your manager for support if you need it.

Layoffs

A special case when it comes to letting people go, where it has neither been the decision of you or your employee, is redundancies. The unique challenge with this situation is that:

• They haven’t done anything wrong. There haven’t been any performance issues, so this is purely a business decision, and typically for bad reasons: the company isn’t hitting targets and has come into financial difficulty. So even though everyone has somehow contributed to this situation in some way, it’s a decision from above that is out of your control and likely isn’t their fault.

• It’s going to be a surprise to them. Because the rumor mill can be harmful, typically a round of redundancies will be carried out at an orchestrated time. They won’t see it coming. This increases the potential of conflict when you deliver the news. If you are given information of upcoming redundancies in confidence so you can prepare, absolutely do not leak it. It never improves the situation.

• You don’t want them to go either. When delivering the message, it’s likely that you, too, will feel upset that they will be losing their job and leaving the company. You’ll need to balance your emotion so that you can be clear, direct, and supportive.

If you find yourself in the situation where you have to let people go through redundancy, you will typically be given some script to follow by the company that details the reasoning plus their severance package. If you haven’t been given this, then you have the right to ask for one. You shouldn’t be left to make it up as a manager.

When it’s time to give the message, keep calm and stick to your script and notes. Try not to react to any anger or frustration that you receive. Instead, listen and understand, but explain that you don’t have the power to change the situation. This is one of the hardest things to do as a manager. You’ll get through it, but it will hurt. And remember, they’ll be hurting more.

Letting People Go

Letting someone go is never easy, and you should call upon the support of your manager and HR team to provide you with the appropriate administrative, collegiate, and legal support that you require. Even if you’re nervous, and even if your manager offers to do it for you, you should be the one that does the firing. You owe it to your staff to be with them through the bad times and the good, and this is the very definition of a bad time. Here are some tips for one of the most difficult meetings that you will do: If it helps, prepare what you want to say by writing it down first and bringing the script to the meeting. Speak calmly and slowly and allow plenty of silence for them to respond. Be prepared for them to be angry and emotional. Stay centered and listen attentively, but remember that the decision has already been made. Once it’s over, take some time for yourself. Go and take a long walk or get a coffee down the road. Get some space between the firing and the next activity that you do.